Cementing The Sustainability Agenda
At UltraTech Cement, nurturing diversity and fostering an inclusive workplace is integral to long-term success and the organisation has been constantly working to enhance the gender balance.
“We now have women colleagues taking on a wide array of roles including core manufacturing roles as well as frontline sales roles. The successful operationalisation of an all-women-managed ready-mix concrete (RMC) plant in FY22 was a significant achievement given that RMC manufacturing was hitherto seen as a male-specific domain,” says K.C. Jhanwar, Managing Director, UltraTech Cement.
This success provides significant impetus to ongoing diversity initiatives in the company. The firm now has two all-women-operated RMC units. Similarly, several of UltraTech’s cement manufacturing units have all-women-operated central control rooms (CCRs), which in many ways are the engine of cement manufacturing operations.
Talking about the sustainability agenda, the company has improved its energy efficiency, increased the share of renewable energy and further scaled up the use of alternative fuels and alternate raw materials (AFR) in manufacturing operations. Its total AFR consumed in FY22 alone was over 24 million tonnes and CO2 intensity decreased by 9.1 per cent from the 2017 baseline, in line with the target of reducing 27 per cent carbon intensity by 2032.
Notably, UltraTech’s cement manufacturing operations rely on high energy usage. Reliance on fossil fuels for energy not only increases the carbon footprint but also puts a significant cost burden on the business. The company is also working towards increasing the share of green energy in the energy mix.
During FY23, UltraTech significantly scaled up its green energy capacity, achieving over a 25 per cent increase in WHRS capacity and a 28 per cent increase in renewable energy capacity. The company presently has 555 MW of green energy capacity, which includes 210 MW of WHRS installed capacity and 345 MW of renewable energy capacity.
“To achieve our targets, we are scaling up our investments in the development of innovative products and services, improving energy efficiency, increasing the share of renewable energy and scaling up the use of alternative fuels and alternate raw material in our manufacturing operations,” adds Jhanwar.
Using emerging technologies
As India is currently witnessing a digital revolution, especially after the Covid-19 pandemic, UltraTech is also at the forefront to utilise every aspect of it. The company is constantly exploring the use of emerging technologies to accelerate the decarbonisation of its operations. The recent partnership with Coolbrook, a transformational technology and engineering company, exemplifies its approach.
A hopeful Jhanwar tells BW Businessworld that UltraTech will be among the first industrial players in using Coolbrook’s revolutionary RotoDynamic Heater (RDH) technology for the decarbonisation of the manufacturing process.
Notably, the technology uses electrification from renewable sources for the heating processes in cement production and removes the need to use fossil fuels, thus helping to accelerate the decarbonisation of cement manufacturing.
Contributing to India’s growth story
Jhanwar explains that cement and concrete are fundamental to human life today. Concrete is the most used man-made material and therefore cement is critical to enhancing the quality of human life be it through providing housing for families or better infrastructure for communities.
As one of India’s leading cement and concrete manufacturer, UltraTech recognises its responsibility to contribute to the nation’s development. A proud Jhanwar claims that UltraTech has been the preferred partner for all the iconic infrastructure projects of the country.
The growth of UltraTech in many ways mirrors the growth of India’s infrastructure development. A most recent example is the new Parliament building for which UltraTech was the biggest supplier of cement, concrete and specialist building products.
“Our investments to expand our production capacity of both cement and concrete demonstrates our commitment to not only harness the increasing opportunity but more importantly to partner with the country in nation-building,” Jhanwar asserts.
Given its scale of operations both in terms of manufacturing footprint and market reach, Jhanwar is hopeful that UltraTech is well poised to leverage the growth opportunity ahead. “As an integrated building solutions provider, we have a wide array of products and services to meet the needs of both individual home builders as well as the speciality construction needs of our institutional clients,” says Jhanwar.
Making a positive impact
At UltraTech, water conservation is another key element of its sustainability agenda. The company have reused, recycled, harvested, and recharged more than 85 plus million cubic meters of water in FY23 alone. It is 4.17 times water-positive today and aims to be 5 times water positive by 2024.
“The circularity of materials is a key priority for us at UltraTech. We focus on tackling the issue of overutilisation of natural resources as well as enabling safe and environment-friendly disposal of waste generated from human activity, including industrial waste and municipal waste,” Jhanwar explains.
During FY23, UltraTech utilised over one million tonnes of alternative fuels such as industrial waste, biomass, municipal waste and plastic and is now 2.48 times plastic-positive.
“Being the largest cement manufacturing company in the country, it is our responsibility to lead the sustainability agenda for the sector. We have made concerted efforts towards making cement and concrete more sustainable,” Jhanwar says.
Meanwhile, the company is eyeing to strengthen its leadership position by enhancing value proposition through continuous innovation in products and services, by fostering partnerships across the construction value chain and by delivering superior customer service.
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